Main menu

Category Archives: Folk Crafts

Post navigation

Hi folks! I spent most of the morning getting invitations in the mail for this winter’s papercutting classes! More will go out tomorrow, since I’ve not quite bonded with our new printer yet and the printing process is taking a little longer than I expected. But… just in case I don’t have you on my local mailing list, and you’re able to come for a class…

We’re going to be making a Haus Segen! (That’s Pennsylvania German for “house blessing!”) Class participants can choose from several designs, cut them out using scissors and craft knives, and paint them with watercolor. If you prefer, you can leave them with us to be framed in a handmade grain-painted frame, or take them home to put in your own standard-size frame. Sizes will range from 4″ x 6″ to 8″ x 10″… and you can make more than one if you work quickly!

😀

We had such a great time with the classes last year, and are really looking forward to this year’s projects! See you soon!

We had a grand time this afternoon! It was a wonderfully messy, full-house sort of afternoon! A whole bunch of homeschoolers came over and we folded paper, twisted paper, and snipped paper to make pretty stars and snowflakes! It’s been a while since we’ve done a homeschool class, and I forgot how much I missed being around homeschooled kids. We talked about everything from raising chickens to Civil War dancing. Somehow we forgot to take pictures during the actual event, but I did pick up the camera before I picked up the broom, so here’s what was left…

Snowflakes cut from coffee filters! These are actually very good to use for younger children, since you can skip the steps of cutting a perfect square and rounding off the “tails” to get your pie shape. Coffee filters are also thinner than regular paper, so cutting through multiple layers of paper is easier. And… coffee filters are CHEAP. You can get a hundred or so for $1, and keep your little ones busy for hours! We ironed some of them between waxed paper, and some were just taken home “as is.” Snowflakes are pretty when taped to windows, and small ones can be put between lamination sheets, cut around, and used as ornaments! You can also use them as cake stencils… lay the snowflake on top of an unfrosted cake and sprinkle on fine powdered sugar or dust with cocoa. Remove the snowflake, and you have a pretty cake!

I was excited when I saw my friend Michele was making these at Christmas… and she gave us the link for this tutorial she found! (Thanks Michele!!!) These twirly things were definitely a hit with the teens! They’re fun to make, not too difficult, and the sizes are variations are endless! Kate taught this project and really enjoyed working with the kids & Moms!

And Chris taught a group of brave souls to fold Moravian Stars! These are the smaller, folded paper version, (there’s also a paper folded large Moravian Star… very complex and lots of math involved! Maybe we’ll get Hubby to teach a class on that some day!) and are sometimes called Pennsylvania German Folded Stars. Chris is our star folding expert, and has probably made a thousand or so of these things! Our Freebie Friday Giveaway is the pattern… if you scroll down and click on the link, there’s a Word Document to download! Have fun!

I ended up with a Quiet Day today. Ran a few errands, made scrapple sandwiches for Hubby and me. Now he’s off to the shop to make frames and I’m heading to the art room to snip paper! I think I’ll put on some tea water and some relaxing music. And find some chocolate to take with me.

🙂

In the busy-ness of the Christmas season, I didn’t get a chance to let everyone know that our artwork can now be found at American Folk Art! Along with some other VERY talented craftspeople! If you get a chance, stop over there and check out all the incredible folk crafts represented there!

…From two weeks of work/vacation/playing dress-up! We spent the first weekend in September at Hay Creek Festival, where we set up on the hill with the Early American crafters and Kate got to do open fire cooking all weekend! Hay Creek is always a fun event, with lots of children hanging around Mr. Frey to try their hand at scherenschnitte! I get to sit still and do what I love… papercut! All dressed up in colonial garb. And by Sunday evening, the scent of yummy things and woodsmoke follows Kate wherever she goes. We really don’t like washing those outfits on Monday… it seems we’re washing away memories. However, the Mom in me knows it must be done.

We came home with four days to replenish our stock a little, and then headed out to Mount Vernon’s 18th Century Crafts Fair. As reenactors and history buffs, it escapes me to explain how we’ve never visited our dear Washington’s home before, but I can tell you without a doubt that we will visit again! The weekend was bustling with activity and we rarely got away from our booth, but we stayed over Monday to enjoy the grounds and museum. What a beautiful estate… and we’re very impressed at how the Mount Vernon Ladies Society has preserved the home and the memory of the Father of Our Country.

We didn’t get a lot of pictures, but we’ll share a few… here’s Kate and me in the booth…

And the Rat Destroyer… this gentleman was wonderfully fun, and not too scary to children. They flocked to him like the Pied Piper! It must have been the cute furry creature in his cage…

And a view of the mansion…

And a view of the view… Kate and Dad are enjoying it!

And the gardens…

And the mill…

And the distillery… I love how the light was coming in the window!

We met some wonderful people this past couple of weekends, and are really enjoying being able to participate in period craft shows. And we’re definitely going to find time to head back to Mt. V.! But for now, it’s back to the cutting board!

I’ve got a little something new getting ready to go on the website! And just in time for wedding season… a Wedding Silhouette package! the background is a print of a watercolor original. Anyway, for the country bride and groom…

We had a visitor in our yard the other morning… we threatened to sting this little guy with our BB gun, but Kate and I had, um, technical difficulties with said gun, and he just continued to wander around the yard, oblivious to any danger. We’re not usually opposed to wildlife, but you see we have chickens, and foxes and chickens do not mix well. This particular fox is still pretty young, and has no fear of people yet. Or any interest in chickens… he was more interested in a bug in the grass than the plump hens that were having a fit just 20 feet away!

Shew! What a crazy past few days! We spent the majority of last week preparing for the Thanksgiving Weekend/Christmas Open House at the store, and cut, painted, and framed like mad. The weekend turned out to be very busy… lots of people bustling about in the store, but still with a very festive mood. Hudson’s isn’t your typical Black Friday push and shove atmosphere. Kate and Sara sang their little hearts out, and I even got to join them ocassionally! They took quite a few orders for their Christmas CD, and it is “on the presses” as of today! If anyone is interested in purchasing one, just e-mail me… they are $10 each, plus shipping.

We finally got the “Peace” cutting finished… I was really happy with the way it turned out…

And I’m adding some Christmas pictures to the gallery, so check them out!

All in all, we overed the weekend pretty well. “Overed” by the way, is a Sussex County term meaning you got through something with no major problems. We over a lot of things here.

Today involved quite a few errands, and one very sad task. We had to put down Nannie, the last of the goats that Nana Anne gave the girls. Caprine arthritis ran in their family, and each one slowly was affected by it. She began showing signs of being paralyzed yesterday, and today she couldn’t move at all. We still have one goat left… little April, who was given to us by another person and who also is our alarm clock. (There is no such thing as sleeping in with April around! She makes up for her small size with her not-so-small voice!) She doesn’t seem to be too upset or lonely so far. Perhaps the chickens will be enough company for her.

We were able to take a three day trip to my second favorite place in the whole world…

Williamsburg!

My first favorite place is, of course, our little homestead.

🙂

We took a detour on Saturday to a Civil War park we’ve never been to before. The drive was a little longer than we expected, but it was well worth it. Pamplin Park has a lot of interactive exhibits, and I know we just scratched the surface! I especially liked the museum section in the main building, and the “Trial by Fire” area where you walked through a simulated battlefield. I wasn’t ready for the “whizzing bullets,” because I sure did jump!

When we took the Jamestown-Scotland ferry to head to our hotel in Williamsburg. Drove right on, and away we went. Very convenient!

On Sunday, we were meeting my parents at a traditional crafts fair, and took the ferry again to get there. After half an hour of waiting in line for the ferry, we were whisked across the James River to the fair. It was great, although some crafters had left early due to the rain the previous two days. After that fair, we went and checked out another that we saw signs for down the road! It was great!

I ended up spending a bit of money here! I found a jean jumper in just my size with a cute pumpkin & crow on it. And then we saw an artist whose work we really appreciate, and Chris bought me two prints by him! When I grow up, I want to be that talented!Then we headed to the ferry once more, and the cars were lined up for a very long distance. We waited nearly an hour (are you seeing a pattern here?) for the SECOND ferry to come back, and finally we all were heading to Williamsburg! We headed to the Duke of Gloucester to take in some sights and smells before dinner. Believe it or not, we had been that close to downtown Williamsburg for over 24 hours, and that was my first sight of it!

Why do I love that place so much? Let’s see… I went there first at age 8, and came home all a-bubble, and wrote this giant report about it all on my own and took it to my third grade teacher. (She was only mildly impressed… we weren’t studying about that at the time.) That place was the only place in the world (at least to me) where people were doing the things I was reading about in my mom’s brown paper covered Early American Life magazines. After that, Williamsburg was a popular vacation spot for our family, and the historic trades was the place I wanted to be. (Only they didn’t let me touch.) I loved it so much, that when Chris asked where I’d like to go on our honeymoon, Williamsburg was my first choice… I wanted to share it with him! He loved it too, and I could hardly get him out of the cabinet maker’s shop! Since then, we’ve visited many times, and our girls tripped through those cobblestone streets many hours in colonial garb.

And they still do occasionally…

On Monday, we returned downtown to do some serious window shopping. Kate found a friend or two, ran and bought another whistle, and stayed with them for an hour or more. Then we ate our traditonal lunch of ham biscuit, apple pasty, and rootbeer/apple cider, and headed home. Inspired.